'Ricky Gervais Show' Preview

'The Ricky Gervais Show,' a cartoon version of the popular podcast featuring Gervais and his pals, debuts 9PM Friday. On it, Gervais and longtime collaborator Stephen Merchant (BBC's 'The Office' and 'Extras') chat with Karl Pilkington, a type of idiot savant who philosophizes on everything from human nature to monkeys. We did mention monkeys, didn't we?Ricky Gervais is about to monkey around on HBO.

'The Ricky Gervais Show,' a cartoon version of the popular podcast featuring Gervais and his pals, debuts 9PM Friday. On it, Gervais and longtime collaborator Stephen Merchant (BBC's 'The Office' and 'Extras') chat with Karl Pilkington, a type of idiot savant who philosophizes on everything from human nature to monkeys. We did mention monkeys, didn't we?

"This is actually a series of pointless conversations we've had with our friend Karl Pilkington over the last few years," Merchant says.

The origins of 'The Ricky Gervais Show' go back to 2001, when it debuted on British radio and was offered as a podcast beginning in 2005. Pilkington was originally a producer of the radio show who soon became an on-air personality and a sensation in the UK.